BIRD GUIDING AROUND OSLO

Thursday, 30 January 2014

I thought it was best to title this post in an honest way
such that nobody starts reading this thinking they’ll find something new only to
be disappointed by just finding even more pictures of Bearded Tits!

It’s still snowing and we now have over a metre in the
garden. It is not that tempting to be out just now but a bit of
fresh air is always a good idea. I chose a quick trip to Fornebu and recorded fifteen birds of four
species: seven Waxwing (sidensvans), one Fieldfare (gråtrost), one Magpie (skjære) and unsurprisingly the six
Bearded Tits (skjeggmeis).

When I arrived at the reedbed at Koksa I positioned myself
where I have been seeing the birds and waited and scanned but could not hear or
see anything other than falling snow. I walked the length of the reedbed still
having NOTHING but snow and then returned to the spot. A couple of minutes
later: “ping, ping” and then after another minute the birds popped up in exactly
the same place and then fed high in the reeds just 5 metres away. The bird that
was closest was as usual the ringed female which seems to be just that little
bit less shy than the others. The
birds dropped down to the base of the reeds a few times and each time popped up
again a fraction closer. Eventually they were right by the fence only three
metres away. I hoped that they would come to the reeds on my side but that was
obviously a too greedy wish.

These birds look like they are becoming my new Hawkie but
whilst they are scarce and very smart birds they do not compare in the wow
factor that Hawkie had last winter.

A new day offers new photo opportunities but basically I think now that the
only thing that can improve the pictures is better light and maybe an
interesting behavioural feature. I did take some video though which despite
being hand held isn’t too bad. I filmed in HD so remember to chose HD in the bottom right corner.

three birds

points for aeshetic appeal?

ringed female but despite the close range I am not able to get any details from the ring

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

This morning was spent with James Ewen trying to find a
suitable spot to film Dippers (fossekall) underwater. We found three Dippers
but have not necessarily yet found a suitable place to film. As always, it was
a joy to watch these birds and today there was far more swimming than I have
noted before with one bird in particular acting like a duck!

can you spot the Dipper?

In the garden the Blackbirds (svarttrost) seem to have called
a truce with the 2cy male sharing the apples with the adult male and female
although only for short periods of time. The female was particularly confiding
and kept on feeding an apple when I went out to fill up the feeders. I returned
with the camera and had to step back to get her within the close focus range. I
have not tried to age females before as one has to look for more subtle
differences than the males show. I have seen however that others report the age
of females so thought I would see if I could age this bird. To me the flight
feathers and particularly greater coverts look to be uniform in colour with no
obvious retained juvenile feathers which should make this an adult.

female Blackbird

The greater covert feathers (outlined) all seem to be of a similar colour which means that they have all been moulted and the bird is therefore an adult. However the outermost greater covert does look to be far more pointed than the other feathers and has pale edges which may mean this feather is of a different generation and would therefore suggest the bird is a youngster. Not easy is it?

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

With snow still falling and temperatures rising towards zero
making the roads slippery I just kept it local this morning. Fornebu was a
pretty dead place with less than ten species on offer but when they include six
Bearded Tits (skjeggmeis), three Long-tailed Tits (stjertmeis), 19 Twite
(bergirisk) and a male Goshawk (hønsehauk) that isn’t a bad haul. The Beardies
were in EXACTLY the same small area of reeds that I have seen them the previous
two times. This small area doesn’t look that different to the surrounding reeds
but the seed heads here must be particularly tasty. They exhibited the same
behaviour as before and were difficult to find initially but one quiet call
eventually gave them away and there they were just 5 metres away.

The Twite flock was feeding on seed heads amongst the snow
but failed to contain ant redpolls this time.

In the garden the Tree Sparrow (pilfink) flock has increased
to 11 and there were four Blackbirds (svarttrost) visiting the garden: two
adult males and one 2cy male and a female. Surprisingly, the second calendar
year bird was the king of the roost though and saw off the others if they
approached the apples I have put out – he is obviously a testosterone full
teenage bully. The nearby apple tree now has little fruit remaining on it and I
only saw a single Fieldfare (gråtrost) when I checked it out.

Bearded Tits have a very cool way of climbing up reeds by holding onto
two different stems. Note this male is ringed on its left leg

male and female Bearded Tit

Three males Bearded Tits (skjeggmeis) with houses of Langodden on the other side of Koksa in the background

Long-tailed Tit - always a pleasure to see and hear

part of the flock of Twite (bergirisk)

Wrens (gjerdesmett) are so far fairly widespread this winter although could suffer if it remains cold for long. Note this bush is already bursting into bud

Monday, 27 January 2014

Last night and this morning it just snowed and snowed and
snowed; dry, fluffy snow that blows around a lot and drifts.

Today was therefore a good day to stay in and catch up on
admin and article writing. Of course I always had an eye on the garden and also
took a trip to the apples tree. The apple tree held seven Waxwings (sidensvans),
two Fieldfares (gråtrost), a Blackbird (svarttrost) and the male Blackcap
(munk). The Blackcap is quite wary and flies off when someone approaches to
within 10 metres of the tree which must be quite tiring for the bird as a path
runs right by it but the other birds just sit tight and don’t seem bothered by
people walking right underneath them.

In the garden the Robin (rødstrupe) and three Blackbirds are
still holding out and four Yellowhammers (gulspurv) and two Bullfinches (dompap)
dropped in. Rarest bird of the day though was a Greenfinch (grønnfink). This
species used to be regular in the garden all year round but has seen a crash in
its numbers recently. It is thought that it is disease that is the cause and
Greenfinches are very susceptible to salmonella which they pick up at feeding
stations.

Saturday, 25 January 2014

An usual weekend post from me but with 10 minutes to spare
between a late, lie-in induced, breakfast and taking the family to the ski
slopes I checked out the apple tree. Just four Waxwings (sidensvans) this
morning but the Blackcap (munk) was present and allowed me to see it feeding on
apples – a fine male which dispelled any thoughts I may have had that the
tacking call from yesterday actually belonged to a far rarer warbler. At 0930
on an overcast morning it is still very dark and the pictures bare evidence of
this.

Whilst skiing a vole risked its life as it ran across one of
the slopes – hopefully a good sign regarding owls this year.

male Blackcap (munk) - a very scarce winter visitor in Oslo

Waxwing (sidensvans) - a common winter visitor in Oslo although always a delight to see

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About Me

My name is Simon Rix and I am an English birder who has lived in Oslo since 2001. I am a bird guide and served a term on the Norwegian Rarities Committee (NSKF) from 2012-2018.
This blog primarily records my birding around Oslo.